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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23428351">golden responsibility</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LactoseFreeVanillaYoghurt/pseuds/LactoseFreeVanillaYoghurt'>LactoseFreeVanillaYoghurt</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>they say colours are only figments of the imagination [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Six - Marlow/Moss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Study, Found Family, Gen, Plot? What Plot?, aragon-centric, fight me, is the best trope</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:28:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,318</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23428351</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LactoseFreeVanillaYoghurt/pseuds/LactoseFreeVanillaYoghurt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A look into Catherine of Aragon's relationships with the other queens.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>they say colours are only figments of the imagination [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695670</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>golden responsibility</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For Catherine of Aragon, being the first queen came with an endless amount of pressure. Always calm and collected, never speaking without having fully-formed a thought. She supposed it had started before Henry had even begun to walk into her life. Her sharp wit and clever eyes had gained her other people's trust from a young age. And then, with trust came responsibility, and with responsibility came pressure. It wasn't like she didn't handle the pressure well; she tried to take time for herself and stood by her beliefs despite the bitter comments sometimes aimed at her. Life had been simpler with Henry (not easier, never easier). You were either right, or wrong. Sometimes, Catherine missed that about the 21st Century - there was just so much <em>more<em> she had to think about, along with so many more responsibilities. It sounds silly, the Queen should have had a reputation to uphold in Tudor times, but really, modern day had such high expectations. Still, she dealt with it in her usual stoic way, learning each day, progressing towards understanding her new life. She forgot her pressure sometimes, in those quiet moments in the morning with tea and the birds. In those minutes the pressure may be temporarily gone, but the responsibility will always haunt her.</em></em></p><p>
  <em>
    <em>¬¬¬</em>
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  <em>
    <em>Contrary to popular belief, Catherine did not hate Anne Boleyn. To her, Anne was annoying, clomping down the stairs and ungodly hours of the night, off to do who knows what, sliding mischievous glances across the dining room table, and arguing back with as much wit as Aragon. Because, not only was Anne annoying, she was also passionate, endearing and highly intelligent. Catherine often found herself on the sidelines of Anne's mischief, an observer watching from the distance. This caused her to notice the intense thought and consideration that went into each movement. She'd never thought to look past Anne's joking attitude, in either of their lives but as she watched her now, she realized that the Anne she knew was just a mask. In reality, Anne was just as tortured as the rest of them, using comedy as a shield. Catherine worried about Anne. Of course, she would never say anything directly, instead using actions rather than words. She knew to make her a cup of tea on those rare mornings where Anne was up early for unspecified reasons, or to leave a new choker on her bedside table after a week of her clawing quietly at her neck. Aragon hoped that Anne was coping for now but was constantly on edge for the inevitable day when the facade would smash.</em>
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  <em>
    <em>Catherine had bonded quickly with Jane, but found their friendship sometimes taken for granted by the others. She supposed it was because their friendship had evolved around domestic chores and housekeeping. For instance, with their hectic lives, a 'girls' night out' for the two consisted mainly of grocery shopping or singing along to ABBA while cleaning the house. And, this being said, she sort of preferred it this way. Being the two most responsible of the family, they found that if they weren't there to ensure routine, the household would inevitably descend into further chaos. Catherine remembered a morning not too long after their reincarnation when she had attempted to take Jane out for brunch. She had quickly realized that Jane's defining selflessness couldn't bear not helping others and taking time for herself. Ever since then, they settled for more everyday activities. Other than these moments together, Catherine barely spoke to Jane, with Aragon once again being an observer to the beheaded cousins' mischief that Jane found herself dealing with. Catherine wished that Jane would tell her if her newfound responsibilities ever began to make her feel the pressure that Catherine was so used to.</em>
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    <em>¬¬¬</em>
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    <em>Out of all the queens, Catherine willingly spent the most time with Anna. Rather like herself, Anna was exceedingly independent and preferred her own company to anyone else's. Both Catherine and Anna were the sort of people who went by the saying that they liked to be alone but didn't particularly fancy being lonely. Catherine found that her favourite moments with Anna were those when they would sit in the same room reading or scrolling through Instagram. Anna would show Aragon her memes and Catherine would say lines of her book aloud, with both actions sometimes resulting in them huffing out a sound of approval or crying with laughter. In all honestly, Catherine saw Anna as something of a role model. She admired the genuine confidence that radiated off her and tried to absorb some of that self-assured attitude into herself. Not only did she look up to Anna, she also trusted her the most out of all the queens. She knew that if all became too much or if she needed random advice, Anna would be the person to talk to. A part of Catherine wished she were more like Cleves. She longed for the genuine emotion that Anna showed, instead of her own attitude of working for a reputation. She supposed jealousy was only natural but all in all secretly wished that Anna didn't have such a perfect life. </em>
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    <em>Perhaps surprisingly, Catherine of Aragon very rarely saw Katherine Howard. Realistically, she saw Kat every day - they did live in the same house. But she never seemed to see the same Katherine that Anne or Jane did. Kat was a girl of many layers; smiling and giggling politely for the public, pranking and hugging the queens, and then talking quietly with the two she trusted the most. Ever observant, Catherine quickly caught on to this. She, like all the others, knew that Kat had been through hell and back, and tried to simply be there as a source of comfort. She made sure to offer her room as a place of safety after a nightmare, with a cup of peppermint tea and a dark chocolate digestive in case Kat wanted to stay up for longer. But Catherine also knew that there was so much more to their Katherine than the trauma. She wished that everyone could be there to see Kat cracking jokes over dinner, or dancing in the park when it was sunny. Catherine hoped with all her heart that one day the nightmares would stop and their Kitty could live free from her past. Sadly, she knew this would take time for all of them and would be a gradual change, but she supposed she could still pray for one day to wake up and for it all to be over.</em>
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    <em>When they were first reincarnated, Aragon had been disappointed to find out that her goddaughter seemed hesitant around her. Cathy Parr was naturally introverted and had taken a while to truly warm up to the other queens. Catherine knew that she could come across as intimidating with her wit and air of responsibility, but she wished that the queens she lived with could know her as a warm figure, instead of being fooled by her reputation. And that had happened. Cathy had been reluctant to become close to any of then, and Catherine had tried her best to make her feel welcomed. It started off with Catherine beginning a habit of dropping off Cathy's dinner before a show. They all knew that Cathy forgot to eat, so Aragon made her dinner for her. This had gotten them talking and gradually their relationship grew to be something similar to Jane and Kat's - a sort of mother and daughter relationship. This made Catherine unbelievably happy. She was honoured and proud to have become a person of such trust to Cathy and loved her the same way she had loved Mary. Of course, having a daughter figure in her life had brought old pressures back to the surface, but Catherine knew that having a family and having those connections with people far outweighed any worries she had.</em>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've written Catherine so many times it now no longer looks like a word aaaaah</p></blockquote></div></div>
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